Neli ML

Seventh Sunday after the Epiphany February 23, 2025 Lucas 6:27-38 Rev. Neli Miranda  Today’s Gospel continues Jesus’ teachings addressed to a large crowd of disciples gathered on a plain, as we heard last Sunday. He speaks to a multitude of impoverished, needy people whom he calls “blessed”—a term traditionally reserved for those who possessed material wealth and high social status. However, Jesus subverts this conventional understanding by declaring his disciples blessed, stating, “. . .yours is the Kingdom of God”. This radical statement affirms the dignity of his followers and establishes the foundation for a new community, the community of the Kingdom of God. Jesus and his first followers faced enemies, those in positions of power who dominated and oppressed the people, persecuting and murdering all those who cried out for justice, beginning with Jesus himself.   Amidst this reality, marked by violence and hostility, Jesus urges the new community to live in a transfo...

  Sixth Sunday after Epiphany.  February 16, 2025 Luke 6:17-26 Rev. Neli Miranda During the past weeks we have witnessed the arrival of the Epiphany in the different villages in Galilee and so have we in our own lives. Today, on the sixth Sunday after the Epiphany, the Epiphany comes down from a mountain to a level place where a needy multitude awaits Jesus. In the preceding verses Luke tells us that Jesus appointed twelve of his disciples as apostles on a mountain. Now, as he descends with them and stands on a level place, he finds a large crowd gathered, comprised not only of his disciples but also of a multitude of people seeking good news, comfort, healing, and liberation. The call on the mountain was not a privatized experience for the twelve; rather, it was a preparation to bring the Epiphany down to those in need, to the level ground where the marginalized awaited the good news. Who are these people eagerly awaiting Jesus? They are the destitute, the despised no...

  The presentation of Jesus in the temple                                                                           Luke 2:22 - 40 Rev. Neli Miranda   During the past Sundays we witnessed Jesus’ epiphanies, particularly in Galilee where he began his ministry in the synagogue of Nazareth. Today, as we we celebrate the fourth Sunday after the Epiphany, we pause in the narrative to celebrate a special feast, the presentation of Jesus in the temple.   Today’s gospel brings us an endearing image of Jesus and his parents in the temple, forty days after Jesus’ birth.   As was customary and being a devout family, Mary and Joseph bring Jes...